GM expects sales in Brazil to grow by 68 percent to 1 million vehicles by 2014

As Brazilians are becoming richer and the currency gets stronger, General Motors Co. is expecting that sales in this country will increase by 68% to 1 million vehicles by 2014.

In an interview, Jaime Ardila, head of GM South America, said that these factors raise the demand for fancier cars as well. He added that Brazil will contribute in a big way to GM's profits within the next few years.

GM forecasts that Chevrolet sales in Brazil will reach 650,000 vehicles this year from selling nearly 600,000 in 2009. It also expects sales to surge to the 1 million mark in 2014.

He added that GM intends to raise deliveries "in line with the market or a little bit ahead" as total Brazilian car sales advance to 4 million in 2014.

Through 2012, GM is investing over 5 billion reais ($2.8 billion) in Brazil as demand rises due to a growing middle class, a strong currency and the creation of more jobs.

According to a central bank survey published recently, Brazil's gross domestic product will increase by 7.2% this year. In the interview in Paris, where Ardila was attending an Economist conference, he said that South America is one of GM's "most important assets and best returns on investment."

GM's focus is now on its investment on product development and on the construction of two plants in the state of Sao Paulo valued at about 1.4 billion reais. [via autonews]